Protect The People's Vote

On Friday, October 14, 2016, supporters of the 2014 Amendment dealing with abortion regulation in Tennessee filed a Friend of the Court brief as the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals prepares to consider arguments as to whether the votes of some pro-life Tennesseans may be thrown out.

Yes on 1 Ballot Committee is no longer accepting signatures for the brief.

For more information about the filing of the brief, please click here.

To read the brief and view the 8,850 signatures of Tennesseans, please click on the 'Read the Brief' button below.

Rather than accept defeat, Planned Parenthood is willing to disenfranchise Tennessee voters in order to ensure that Tennessee remains an abortion destination. That was unacceptable on Election Day 2014 and it remains so nearly two years after clear public approval of Amendment 1.

On November 4, 2014, Tennessee voters approved passage of pro-life Amendment 1 to the Tennessee Constitution by a margin of 53-47 percent. Three days later, Planned Parenthood Board Chair, Tracey E. George and other Planned Parenthood Board members filed a federal lawsuit claiming that their voting rights had been violated and that ballots were not properly counted.

Yes on 1Ballot Committee responded and calls the lawsuit one more example of pro-abortion activists refusing to trust the "common sense and compassion" of Tennesseans who largely favor legal protections for abortion-vulnerable women, girls and unborn children in our state.

"Amendment 1 was passed with a clear majority of Tennesseans casting a vote to approve the language," said Brian Harris, coordinator for Yes on 1 Ballot Committee. "No voter should be stripped of their right to effect social change with their vote or to positively impact the public policies of their community, state or nation."

On April 22, 2016, Federal District Court Judge Kevin Sharp ruled in favor of the Planned Parenthood plaintiffs and demanded a recount of the ballots on Amendment 1. Sharp also maintained that the ballot of any Tennessean having voted for Amendment 1 but not also casting a vote in the Governor's race must be thrown out.

The case is now on appeal to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati with a hearing date to be set.

The Yes on 1 Ballot Committee urges concerned Tennesseans to Protect the People's Vote on Amendment 1 by signing the Friend-of-the-Court (amicus) brief being filed by Yes on 1. Make your voice heard now to defend the lawful outcome of the Amendment 1 vote!

You can read the entire text of the Protect the People's Vote brief (filed 10/14/2016) here.

Disclaimer: The version of the Protect The People's Vote Brief available at this website is a substantively final draft, subject to proofreading and/or technical changes before filing. By signing this form, you swear or affirm that the information that you provided is true and correct and you acknowledge that you will be added as a signatory to the official amicus brief referred to as 'Protect the People's Vote Brief'. You give Yes on 1 Ballot Committee permission to publish your name in official court filings with the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, future state or federal proceedings, and also in any promotion of 'Protect the People's Vote Brief' that may be circulated publicly. New signatures collected in connection to the Protect the People's Vote Brief will be only used in relation to the amicus brief to the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals or future state or federal proceedings. Thank you for standing for Life and in support of protecting the people's vote on Amendment 1.